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General News on Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Source: Graphic.com.gh
2019-04-09
Member of Parliament for Suhum, Frederick Opare – Ansah
The Suhum MP for the eastern region, Mr. Frederick Opare – Ansah, refuted some people's claims that the country's legislature is a buffer that only meets the demands of the executive branch.
He also denied the claims of some quarters that MPs had an unwavering allegiance to their political parties to the detriment of the interests of their constituents.
Mr Opare – Ansah said that MPs had made informed contributions to the bills before their adoption and that they had also examined government initiatives to ensure the adoption of good policies.
"I do not think it's fair to say that our Parliament is a buffer. It's my fourth term as a member of Parliament and I do not think I'm a buffer, "he said.
Training program
The legislator held talks with the Daily Graphic during a training program for MPs from the country's Parliament and the ECOWAS Parliament in Accra on Monday.
The purpose of the three-day program is to provide parliamentarians and parliamentary support staff with the necessary skills to generate evidence that can enhance Parliament's oversight function.
It will focus on data collection, badysis, monitoring and evaluation of data and how MPs can talk about facts in contributions to Parliament to help them make more meaningful contributions . The event was organized by the Center for Learning on Evaluation and Results (CLEAR) of the Institute of Management and Public Administration of Ghana (GIMPA), with the support from the World Bank.
Debate on rubber stamps
Critics have accused MPs of always supporting the position of their political parties, whether in power or in power.
According to critics, this has made Parliament a weak institution that has failed to effectively execute its mandate to control the executive power of the government, as required by law.
In his response, Mr. Opare-Ansah, also a member of the ECOWAS Parliament, said that these criticisms were far-fetched because people did not understand or appreciate the work of lawmakers.
He cited many examples in which he stated that the deputies defied the wishes of their political parties and took a different position on a bill or on certain appointments.
For example, he said, MPs defied the government's wishes and made important changes to the national lotto bill in 2006 before it was pbaded.
"The bill envisioned by the executive was the creation of a monopoly in which only the government had the power to manage any form of lottery in the country. What we did was to convert the ALN into a regulatory body and allow other lottery marketing companies to become ALN in order to be able to sell their lotto products. It was far from what the executive wanted, "he said.
He cited another case where Parliament added a component on youth employment to the tax law on communication services.
"I remember Mr. Inusah Fuseini who made the proposal and we accepted," he said.
Mr. Opare-Ansah cited another case where he had tabled an amendment providing for a 12-month delay in the implementation of the right to information bill, to allow the government to put in place the appropriate infrastructure for successful implementation.
Strengthen committees
To further improve the work of Parliament, Mr Opare – Ansah said that it was therefore necessary to strengthen Parliament 's committees, as the bills were discussed at committee level before ending up at the parliamentary level. Assembly.
He said that members who were also ministers should be excluded from the restricted committees, as these members are part of the policy formulation process within the executive.
"These MPs can serve on standing committees, not on small committees that normally work on bills in Parliament.
Mr. Clement Kofi Humado, CND deputy for Anlo in the Volta region, also said that strengthening the committees of the Parliament was the best way to ensure that Parliament fulfilled its mandate effectively.
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